By Chris Robinson
On Tuesday morning and afternoon the talk of the boxing world was of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his claims that he is set for a September 17th showdown with WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz. Mayweather has been inactive since his drubbing of Shane Mosley in May of last year and the fight against the 24-year old Ortiz is a step in the right direction.
Inside of the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas, fighters and trainers alike were discussing the fight and what its result could eventually lead to. After a brisk workout routine on the mitts with three of his pupils, I got some free time with Mayweather's trainer and Uncle Roger and we discussed the fight.
Despite not having set foot inside of the ring as a professional for over a year, Uncle Roger claims that boxing is still like clockwork for his 34-year old nephew.
"Floyd's been off but he's going to get up for it and he's going to be ready," said Roger. "The guy's a decent fighter but skills pay the bills. Floyd's been in twenty-something title fights. He aint going to take no ass whoopin'."
The early rumors have Mayweather making in excess of $40 million for this contest, a sign of his immense drawing power despite being away from the spotlight on and off for over a year. I asked Roger if he knew all along that Floyd would be making a grand return and he had no hesitation with his response.
"Yes, anytime a guy is making the kind of money that Floyd is making, sh*t, who aint going to come back? A dead man would come back if he could," Roger rambled on.
Ortiz saw his career skyrocket with an inspiring unanimous decision over Andre Berto a few months back in Mashantucket, Connecticut. In that fight Ortiz set the tempo by dropping the champion early before trading knockdowns with him in the sixth and rallying down the stretch to hold on for the win.
It was a sizzling affair, one of this year's best fights, and one that left an impression on the outspoken trainer.
"Oh yeah, I saw it," Roger confirmed. "He fought a good fight with Andre Berto. He's a good boxer. He's one of the best Spanish fighters I have seen boxing-wise. He's better than all them guys in that weight class. But it doesn't matter because Floyd's going to do what he has to do to win."
As interesting of a matchup as this is, the fight everyone wants to see is Mayweather tangling with eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao. The two men have twice seen negotiations between their two sides fall apart, the first time because of issues related to drug testing and the second time because of an apparent reluctance from Floyd.
Some say that the southpaw Ortiz can be looked at as somewhat of a tune up for Mayweather in hopes of hunting down Pacquiao in 2012 but others claim a showdown with the Filipino star is one he will never entertain. I asked Roger how Ortiz stacked up to Pacquiao and whether or not a Pacquiao fight could take place down the line.
"I wouldn't compare him to Pacquiao. He's better than Pacquiao, I know he is. Pacquiao aint going to fight [Mayweather] anyways. He wouldn't even take a test, what does that tell you?"
